Grassroots Vol 21 No 4 | Page 34

NEWS

Figure 10 . Ecological burns in areas of the Renosterveld that had not burnt for many years .
implemented the ecological burn in autumn 2021 .
At Kykoedie the ecological burn was undertaken in collaboration with the ORCT . The Uitvlucht burn was a collaboration between the landowners ( the Streicher family ), the ORCT , Enviro Wildfire Services and the Greater Overberg Fire Protection Association ( goFPA ) and their Working on Fire ( WoF ) team .
Once these ecological burns had successfully taken place , the next important job is to monitor the new growth in the Renosterveld , including which species are seen following the fire .
Figure 11 . At Kykoedie the ecological burn was undertaken in collaboration with the ORCT .
The easement sites where ecological burns took place were Kykoedie , Uitvlucht and Napkysmond farms . Kykoedie farm encompasses some of the Overberg ’ s largest intact areas of Central Rûens Shale Renosterveld while Uitvlucht and Napkysmond are in Eastern Rûens Shale Renosterveld .
At both Uitvlucht and Kykoedie , the veld age was estimated to be more than
20 years since the last burn had taken place . At Napkysmond the renosterveld to be burnt was estimated to be more than thirty years old post fire .
The Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust ( ORCT ) played a key role by applying for ecological burn permits for Napkysmond and Kykoedie . At Napkysmond the landowner was responsible for creating firebreaks and successfully
This work is done predominantly through the use of post fire vegetation surveys , but the ORCT also uses fixedpoint repeat photography as a tool to examine post fire vegetation change .
Repeat photography is the process of taking a series of photographs at different times of the same view ( marked by a permanent marker , such as a pole ) while standing in the same position . It is a technique used by scientists and conservation professionals to document environmental changes over time .
Applications might range from mapping land cover change to document-
33 Grassroots Vol 21 No 4 December 2021